Jeremy Hunt announced in his Autumn Statement today (November 17) that the state pension triple lock will be kept in place. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Chancellor addressed several tax hikes and spending cuts he will be implementing in the House of Commons on Thursday to help bring down inflation and reduce the cost of living.
The “tough but necessary decisions" come as the UK has now entered into a recession and Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak plan to reverse some of the market turmoil after former Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini budget in September.
Amongst the announcements made, the Chancellor confirmed that the state pension triple lock will remain in tact, with pensioners expected to see their payments rise in April next year.
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The triple lock is a government scheme applied to UK state pensions which guarantees that payments will rise in line with inflation.
First introduced in the UK in 2010, the triple lock was suspended for 2022–23 after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 8% rise in earnings, but the government has now committed to apply it from April 2023.
State pension payments will rise in line with an inflation of 10.1%, which makes it the biggest ever annual increase in pensions.
Speaking in the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor said: "Finally, we've spoken a lot about British values of compassion, hard work, dignity and fairness. There is no more British value than our commitment to protect and honor those who built the country we live in.
"So to support the poor pensioners, I've decided to increase the pension credit by 10.1%. The cost of living crisis is harming not just our poorest pensioners but all pensioners. So because we've taken difficult decisions elsewhere today, I can also announce that we will fulfill our pledge to the country to protect the pensions triple lock.
"In April, the state pension will increase in line with inflation, a £970 increase, which representers the biggest increase in the state pension, and to the millions of pensioners who will benefit from this measure I say now and always this government is on your side."
Financial guru Martin Lewis, who was tweeting to his 2 million followers alongside the Government's announcements, told pensioners exactly what this could mean for them.
@MartinSLewis wrote: "The state pension triple lock is being kept. That means a 10.1% uplift from April.
"So someone on full new state pension gets £203.85/wk from current £185.15/wk, an £18.70 rise (972/yr), meaning state pension will be £10,600/yr (a typical energy bill's 30% of that)."
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